He then kept her as his “prisoner” for a week to hide her physical injuries, and used her phone to tell her employers she would be off work following a car crash.

Cooksey also controlled Miss Watkis’s choice of clothes and make-up, and stole her phone, cutting her off from family and friends after she moved into his flat and rendering her “utterly dependent” on him.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Roger Griffiths read a victim impact statement from Miss Watkis, who said she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression because of the violent relationship.

Miss Watkis said: “He always used to say ‘this is not a game’ and that’s what I hear in my nightmares.

“He’s hugely impacted my social skill and I’m now very distrustful of people.

“Before, I was a bubbly, friendly and welcoming person. I was carefree. This is no longer the case.”

Cooksey was found guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and false imprisonment following a trial at Newport Crown Court.

Mr Baker said: “It can be when you are in one you do things you wouldn’t normally do, and won’t do again.”

Judge Thomas Crowther QC said Cooksey became “obsessed” with how many other men Miss Watkis had slept with before him.

“It became very quickly clear that you had a fragile ego, a thin-skinned nature and a vile temper.

“I have no doubt you wanted Miss Watkis to be your partner, but not as a human, a woman, but rather as a canvas upon which you could project your fantasy image of a woman who had no history, no past, no family, no interest except you.

“She didn’t match your desire for some blank virginal sex robot.

“You attacked her, punching her as she lay on the floor curled into a ball, as she put it, ‘like a dog’.

“You isolated her within your home. You made her subject to your dominance. You enforced that by ruthless violence, using your physical power to subjugate her, and by demeaning behaviour.

“You have caused serious physical and enduring psychological harm. You drove her to the brink of tragedy.”

Cooksey was given a six-year extended sentence, meaning he will spend four in custody before he is released on licence.

He was also given a 10-year restraining order in relation to Miss Watkis.